


Liquid Courage

by ATTHS_TWICE



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Anger, Angst, Couch Cuddles, Couch Sex, Drinking, F/M, Kissing, Post-Episode: s06e12 One Son, Post-Movie: The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998), References to Drugs, Season/Series 06, Sex, Tumblr Prompt, X-Files Porn Battle: Fucksgiving 2020 Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27954458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATTHS_TWICE/pseuds/ATTHS_TWICE
Summary: After the “making it personal” line, Scully visits The Gunmen, a little tipsy and quite angry. They do what they can to help, but what she really needs is to talk to Mulder. Or perhaps more than talk...
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 15
Kudos: 132





	Liquid Courage

**Author's Note:**

> From a prompt on Tumblr:
> 
> “Scully being mad over Diana or Phoebe (writer’s choice). She ends at the Gunmen’s drunk. She drunkenly flirts with Byers (the only sober one). Before Frohike, Langly, and Scully decide which game to play, Byers calls Mulder quickly, telling him what’s happening. Mulder and Scully end up fucking at the Gunmen’s.” 
> 
> I combined this prompt from another, who asked for a story about how Mulder and Scully deal with the aftermath of One Son. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Thank you to Alicia and Brittany for their beta work. I appreciate you ladies. 
> 
> And to Lisa, for always being excited for an early read.

Byers had always been more of a watcher than a doer. Not that he did not _do_ anything, he simply preferred to hang back, observe, and learn before he would attempt to try and end up embarrassed. He was twenty one to the day before he ever had a sip of alcohol, worried he might be caught and not wanting anyone, especially women, to not have a way to get home. 

He had never done drugs, aside from the occasional contact high he got from Langly, and sometimes Frohike; when he could be coerced into joining “the hippie.” Drugs were not his thing and alcohol tended to make him happy and then almost instantly sleepy. He _did_ drink, as there was always alcohol around, but he very rarely drank more than one glass, content to maintain only a slight buzz, and his wits about him. 

_Tonight_ , he thought, as he observed what was going on around him, _tonight I definitely need to stay sober._

_______________

Langly had always been one who marched to the beat of his own drum. He had asked questions constantly in class, never accepting the first answer given. He had spent a lot of time in detention because of his “lack of respect,” but it was never the whole truth; his teachers simply did not know what to do with him. 

Music was his escape, The Ramones being the band whose music he could really relate to. He had grown his hair out and fell in with the other geeks and losers at his high school. They drank and smoked behind buildings, either running from or yelling at the teachers who had found them. He was brilliant, but to many he was a lost cause who was wasting any talent he may have had. 

When he met Byers and Frohike, he felt he had found the people he had been searching for his whole life. Two people who _got_ and understood him. 

And then they had met Mulder. He was different from them, a rebel in a suit and tie who worked for the government, but also of the same mindset.

When they met Scully, Langly had been intrigued. Beautiful? Yeah she was. Smart? Christ was she. He liked her, he liked her a lot. She was not like a sister, but someone he looked forward to spending time with when she was around. 

He had seen her ill, scared and worried about Mulder, but never drunk or as angry and annoyed as she was this night. It came off of her in waves as she walked into the room. With a glance to Byers and Frohike, he went to the metal cupboard where they kept their vast amount of board games. 

“How about we play something?” he suggested, catching Frohike’s eye as he widened his own and took a deep breath, and Byers walked out of the room, his phone in his hand. 

_________________

Frohike had always been an old soul, even when he was young, content to be on his own and take care of himself. His parents were hippies, living in a commune, sharing sexual partners and doing massive amounts of drugs. As a result, drugs were something he tended to shy away from, only partaking of them when he was feeling exceptionally low. 

Alcohol was his substance of choice, and when he did it, he did it right. He sometimes went on a bender, away from the guys, in the small sparsely furnished apartment he kept for the moments when he wanted time to himself. He liked Byers and Langly, even going so far as to admit he loved them, though only to himself. But sometimes, he needed some space. 

Tonight had been one of those nights, his desire to spend a few days on his own pulling at him as he had put on his coat and headed for the door. As he opened it, he was surprised to come face to face with Scully, swaying slightly on her feet, the taillights of a cab pulling away.

“Scully, what are you…” he had said, reaching out to grab her arm and pull her inside. “Is Mulder coming? Did he take a different cab?” 

“Mulder,” she had scoffed, unbuttoning her coat and attempting to hang it on the coat rack. She missed and dropped it on the floor, waving at it dismissively as she walked further into the office. He closed the door, relocking all the locks, and following her into the room. 

“Scully?” 

“Mulder can ffffuck off,” she said, touching the doorjamb as she walked through it, calling for the guys, her words slurring slightly. 

“Well, this should be interesting,” he muttered, following her once again. 

_____________________________

“I know this is stupid,” Scully sighed as she shook her head and held it in her hands, her elbows on the table. “I have no right to be angry. I really don’t. We’ve both had relationships in the past…” She fell silent as she realized what she said. “However… in whatever context the relationship was. I know you all know and I… God…” 

Raising her head, she dropped it back and closed her eyes. Feeling dizzy, she raised it again and stared at them. They all exchanged looks and she shook her head and stood unsteadily to her feet. 

“This was a stupid idea. I don’t know what I was thinking. I…” She started to turn around and Frohike stopped her, his hand on her arm. 

“You don’t have to leave. We’ve all been in your shoes. Love… friendship… whatever way you want to categorize it… it really kicks you in the balls sometimes.” She stared at him and then she laughed, sitting back down heavily. She laughed until she covered her face and sighed, feeling tears in her eyes. 

They were quiet again, but she heard the chairs scraping back as they sat down. Moving her hands, she wiped at her eyes and they made no comments about it. A couple of games were on the table and she looked at Langly. He gave her a strained smile and she raised her eyebrows. 

“Where’s the booze?” she asked and he flicked his eyes to Byers before looking back at her. “I’ll find it.” She stood up and Langly stood as well, shaking his head and putting out a hand.

“I’ll get it. You stay here. Choose a game.” He walked out of the room and Scully looked at Byers as she sat down. He smiled and then looked away. 

“So what game should we play?” she asked, rolling her eyes and sighing. 

“We don’t have to… you obviously wanted to talk.” Frohike said and she scoffed loudly. 

“Honestly? I don’t know if I want to hear what you’ll say,” she said, looking at the table and shaking her head. “And that really pisses me off. So…” She looked up as Langly came back in with a bottle of tequila and a stack of shot glasses. “I’d rather drink.” 

And so they did. Byers keeping an eye on his watch, Langly scrutinizing Scully, Frohike understanding her pain, and Scully feeling near tears, her anger building as she sipped her tequila, taking it slowly. 

A knock at the door made them all jump and Scully looked at Byers, knowing who was at the door and knowing it had to have been him who had called Mulder. 

“Seriously, Byers? What the fuck?” She stood up, her hand on the table as she gained her balance. “Why would you?” 

“Because...” he said as he stood up, putting a hand gently on her lower back. She closed her eyes concentrating on keeping her tears from falling. “Because, like Frohike said, we’ve all been in your shoes. You’re angry... hurt… and you should have the chance to tell him that… no matter the outcome.” 

“Damn you,” she said quietly and he smiled softly, rubbing her back before he walked away. 

“We’ll… uh…” Langly stuttered and he walked quickly out of the room. 

“She was important to him. She was,” Frohike said quietly as he stood up, and Scully stared at him, her heart racing and her head feeling slightly dizzy. “I never really liked her. Too… cocky isn’t the right word, but it’s close. She was always watching and not in a good way. Always had her guard up, taking us in, but revealing nothing. She kept her cards close to her chest and I always felt she wasn’t right. Not for him and not for the work.” He stepped around the table and nodded at her, his smile sad. “He never needed her. Not the way he needs you.” 

“He doesn’t need me…not-”

“Oh… Agent Scully… you truly have no idea,” he interrupted her, his smile changing as he nodded again and left her alone, her blood pounding in her ears. 

She could hear his voice as he greeted the guys, asking where she was, and then Byers’ low voice saying something she did not catch, and Mulder’s deep sigh. 

“No,” she said through gritted teeth and walked out of the room. “I’m not going to be waiting for him like a naughty schoolgirl caught smoking between classes.” 

Turning the corner, she saw him standing there, the guys heading for the door. He stared at her and sighed, shaking his head slightly. 

“So I’m here. What did you want to talk about?” he asked in a monotone voice and she clenched her jaw. 

Fuck him. 

“First of all, I didn’t _ask_ you to come here, nor did I ask Byers to ask you to come here, so…” She put up her hand and shook her head. “Second, you wasted your time coming here, I don’t have anything to say.” 

“Oh… right,” he scoffed and shook his head again. “You don’t have anything to say? _You_?” 

Seriously _fuck_ him. 

Checking her pockets, she made sure she had her keys, phone, and wallet. Finding them there, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes momentarily. 

“This is a waste of time,” she said quietly and opened her eyes. She did not look at him, but walked to the side and toward the door. 

“Seriously, Scully? You’re just going to walk away?” 

“Yes, and we’ll push past it and...”

“Never discuss it? As we do a lot of things? Things that-”

“Things that what, Mulder?” she asked as she turned around and stared at him. “Things that are better left unsaid? Things that are... personal? We both know how much you hate that.” 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he groaned and took off his leather jacket, the one that always created very naughty thoughts in her mind. 

Thoughts of running away on a motorcycle, her arms around his waist, moving lower until they find a secluded place, their clothes scattered to the ground, the desperation to feel flesh on flesh too great to wait any longer. 

But not tonight. 

Tonight she was slightly tipsy and very angry. Angry at him, at Diana, but mostly at herself for feeling that way. Jealousy had never been a good look on her and she hated seeing the way women behaved in books or films. It seemed childish and ridiculous, and it painted women as overly emotional and hysterical. 

Yet… seeing the trust he had put in Diana right from the beginning, after not seeing her or even _mentioning_ her for years, it hurt. 

It hurt a lot. 

He crossed his arms and she took a deep breath. This was it. This conversation could change everything. 

“You said I made it personal, my interest in what Diana was doing: going to MUFON chapters and gathering evidence, the reason which we did not know. ‘Big deal,’ you said.” She stared at him and he stared back, his posture unchanging. “Big deal, Mulder. As though what happened to me and all those women that I met, all of them that _died,_ were of no consequence-”

“Jesus Christ, Scully. That’s not what I meant. Not at all.” 

“But it was how you made me feel. As though gathering information on those women, by an agent working in counterterrorism, wasn’t a red flag. How was what they, or I, went through anything to garner the attention of counterterrorism? Did they think they had created an army of, let’s be honest, mostly women, that was going to rise up against the government? Was I going to one day shoot lasers out of my eyes? Was I a threat?” 

“Scully, seriously…” He shook his head and sighed. “I doubt anyone would have thought that way.” 

“And yet that was the agent looking into their experiences. Collecting data for the FBI, but most likely concealing _which_ department for which she was working?” He sighed again and she felt her anger build. “Not only that, but _all_ of it was purged and only found because I came here looking for it. Using back channels and the knowledge the guys have. Why was it purged and not on any records we could get from the bureau?” 

“I don’t know…” 

“No, you don’t. And yet, my desire to want to know how she ties into all of this and why _now_ , is brushed aside. I’m made to feel… like an afterthought. That my opinion, or _facts_ that I find, is cast aside.” She felt near tears and hated it, knowing that it made her look weak, especially when she was attempting to prove she was not. 

“Scully…” 

“Six years, Mulder. Six years we have been partners. I have stayed, when I could have left. Could have walked away, asked for a transfer. Everyone would have understood, you included. You tried to push me away many times, especially in the beginning. Ditching me, leaving me for a hunch, no explanation of your whereabouts.” She shook her head, all of it bubbling to the surface with no plans to stop them. “I stayed. Because I believe in _you._ I believe in the truth you want to find and the people you want to help. Did she stay? Did she stick around?” 

“Scully, it’s not that simple.” 

“Isn’t it though?” she asked softly. “Whatever the nature of your relationship… she didn’t stay. She left. I didn’t. I’m _still_ here. After all the shit _I’ve_ been through personally and my family as well. I’m _right_ here, fighting for you... for _us,_ our partnership, and for the truth you seek.” 

“Scully,” he sighed, looking down. 

“This is personal, Mulder,” she said quietly. “It affects me, so of course it’s personal. It’s _been_ personal for years. How can you not understand that?” 

“I do.” 

“You don’t or you wouldn’t have said it.” 

“Scully-”

“No. Six _fucking_ years, Mulder,” she whispered. “I don’t deserve to be treated the way I have been by you recently. I don’t.” He stared at her and sighed. “I won’t.” 

“What are you saying?” 

“The X-Files is no longer just _yours._ My time, tears, blood, pain, anguish, fear, hopes… they are all in there. In the files, the basement… it’s not just _you_ anymore and it hasn’t been since the moment I was assigned to you. So why are you pushing me away?” 

“I’m not.” 

“You are.” Tears filled her eyes, no longer able to be held at bay. Wiping at them angrily, she shook her head. “By not believing _me,_ not listening to me, or taking my experiences and my dedication to this job seriously… you are. You’re making me make a choice-”

“Scully-”

“I can’t stay if my loyalty to you or this job is questioned and made to feel insignificant. I’ve put in my time, Mulder. I deserve your respect.” 

“I do respect you, Scully. I always have.” 

“Until long legs and a pair of tits walks into the room,” she said and he stared at her. 

“I wouldn’t say it’s that, as you also have both of those things. Well, maybe not _long_ legs.” 

“Is that supposed to be funny?” She stared at him, feeling very nearly ready to walk away and never come back. 

“No, it… I thought it might help to diffuse this…” He motioned between them and she shook her head. 

“Well, once again you assumed incorrectly.” 

“Scully, Jesus Christ… I don’t know what to say. I told you months ago how I felt… how much you have meant to me…” 

“And then what, Mulder? We pushed it aside, only touched on it once, all while dealing with a situation in which you failed to listen to me, to believe _me_ , but jumped at the chance to believe Diana, to follow her. You’re always quick to believe what she sets before you, and yet when I present evidence to the contrary, I’m met with resistance and sullen sighs.” She crossed her arms and sighed. “You said my science kept you honest… but you dismiss it and refuse to listen to me.” 

“That’s not-”

“It is,” she said softly. “When you do that… especially around Diana, who… Mulder, I am a strong woman. I put up with a lot in this field, mostly from men, but sometimes women. Most of them I brush off and ignore, but with her, Mulder, I can’t. She’s condescending and seems to enjoy holding it over my head that she knows you in a way I never have or ever could. She is…” 

“My past. She is from my past and I… I thought the woman I knew would be the one I met again. We had been close, knew each other well, had similar interests and wanted the same thing. But then, things started to change and we were different. We wanted different things and we went our separate ways. I was hurt and alone for a while and I liked it that way. Or I thought I did.” He smiled softly and she stared at him, unmoved by his words at the moment. He sighed and shook his head. 

They stared at one another, until she sighed and uncrossed her arms. Shaking her head, she ran her hand down her face and closed her eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” She opened her eyes and looked at him, his eyes downcast. He looked up and sighed. “I don’t know what else to say.” 

He started to walk toward her slowly, seeming to feel her out, see what she would allow. She did not move, wanting to see what he was going to do. 

“I meant what I said,” he said softly. 

“When?” 

“In my hallway.” He kept stepping toward her and she began to breathe harder, anger replaced by desire. “I should have told you before the threat of never seeing you again kicked me into doing so.” 

“I wasn’t _leaving_ , Mulder. Not entirely. I was just not willing to stay if it meant we wouldn’t be together. I quit instead of being transferred to some field office in Utah. I didn’t want to live in Utah.” 

“ _That_ would still have been unbearable and not what I wanted in the slightest.” He stood in front of her and she looked up at him, remembering the way she felt after he had followed her into his hallway, his words loud, the honesty of them rendering her speechless. 

“What did you want?” she whispered, her heart pounding. 

“Besides you staying?” 

“Yeah…” 

“I wanted to kiss you. I wanted…” 

“What?” 

“You. No one else. You saved me, Scully. Without trying. Without knowing.” He cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking lightly, her eyes closing at his touch. “No one else has ever cared the way you have. Seen my value. Only you, Scully.” 

Her eyes flew open when she felt the warmth of his breath across her lips. He was close, just like before, in that empty hallway she had walked down hundreds of times. Then, it had felt like a static charge, a magnetic pull. 

Now… Christ… it was like gasoline on a fire. 

She lifted on tiptoes and their lips met, his surprise at the suddenness causing his mouth to open and she slid her tongue in, aching to taste him. To know him in all ways. 

She gripped his shirt in both hands, their kiss deepening, his arms wrapping around her waist. He walked them backwards until she ran into something and gasped into his mouth as she bounced off of it. 

Breaking apart, both of them breathing hard, they stared at one another. She held his face in her hands and ran her thumbs across his lips. He opened his mouth and licked her thumb, causing her to moan and pull his face down to hers. 

He pressed into her as she bent back over the table, knocking into whatever sat upon it. She heard something spilling and falling to the floor. It sounded like pens, but she did not care. Not when Mulder’s lips were on her ear, whispering her name as he kissed along her jawline. 

But then something poked at her and she frowned, pushing him back as she sat up and touched her neck. 

“Better not be a fucking bee,” he said as he placed a hand on the back of her neck and she laughed. 

“No… I think it was… who cares?” She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he held onto her waist, lifting her off of her feet and holding her tightly. She kissed him, her fingers scratching at the base of his neck and his scalp. 

Turning around, they bumped into the walls as they kissed, her legs wrapped around his waist. Stepping into a dark room, he stumbled against the couch and fell back into it, her falling onto his lap, her knees pressing into the couch. 

She kissed him softly and slowly, her tongue running across his lower lip, teeth nibbling at the upper one. He groaned and she pulled away, lifting her sweater over her head and throwing it behind her. His lips kissed at the hollow of her throat and she tipped her head back, holding his head in place. 

His hands traveled up her back, his short nails scratching at her skin, causing her to shiver. She felt him twisting at her bra and she brought her head up, pulling back and popping open the front clasp of her bra. 

“That’s very convenient,” he mumbled, his mouth latching onto a nipple, her hands landing on his head as she whimpered. He opened his mouth wider, taking in more of her breast and she breathed his name. 

Untangling from her bra, she threw it onto the floor. He stared at her, his hands moving to her breasts, cupping them and pinching her nipples gently. She whimpered again, breathing hard and grinding into him. 

His shirt was off, her fingers running over his chest and to his neck, pressing their chests together, his arms around her waist, hands inside the back of her pants. 

“God, Mulder… I need more.” 

“Agree completely.” 

Shoes, pants, and underwear landed somewhere of little consequence and he sat back down, with her once more in his lap. She stroked him, causing him to shudder. Rising up, she held him, lining up their bodies, and slowly sinking down onto him. 

“Holy fuck,” he whispered, holding her waist tightly, his fingers digging into her flesh. 

“Mulder… oh my god.” She rested her forehead against his and then rose up slowly, feeling every inch of him sliding inside of her. 

“Scully,” he breathed, his hands guiding her pace, her hands on his shoulders, fingernails digging into his skin. 

Sighs and moans filled the room, his name yelled when he hit a spot that had never been hit before, her breath stolen from her lungs. 

“Mulder… oh… oh my god. Do that again.” 

And he did... twice more, before she fell over the edge, her knees clutching tightly around him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, coming down from her intense orgasm. His hands ran up and down her back as she tried to catch her breath. 

“Oh… oh… Mulder… Christ…” Raising her head, she kissed him, scratching her fingers in his hair. Pulling back, she smiled and he caressed her cheek. “I…” 

“I know.” 

She stared into his eyes as she once again began to move. Faster she moved, his eyes staying on hers, a hand on her breast, the other at her waist, his fingers pressing so hard, she knew he was going to leave bruises. 

“Scully…” he breathed through clenched teeth. She nodded, bouncing faster wanting to feel him come. He squeezed her breast and hip simultaneously, holding her still as her name shuddered from his lips. 

“Oh… my god. Oh, Scully…” He kissed her neck as he held her close, both of their hearts racing. 

“Mulder,” she whispered before kissing him, the coolness of the room becoming more pronounced on her overly warm flesh. She shivered and he pulled back, reaching for the blanket at the end of the couch. 

Wrapping it around her, he moved them until they were lying down face to face, no longer inside of her, but their bodies entwined. She shared the blanket with him, his arms wrapped around her, hers on his hip and holding to his upper arm, her head nestled in the crook of his neck. 

Neither spoke for a few minutes, content to touch and kiss, words unnecessary. Her lips at his throat, his fingers trailing across her back, she smiled as she kissed and licked at the sweat they had created. 

“Well,” he said, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Well… not exactly what I thought would happen when I came over here tonight. Or where I imagined _this_ would ever happen.” 

“Hmm. Same to all,” she murmured, sucking at his skin, teeth scraping, causing him to pull her closer. “Where _did_ you imagine it happening? Just out of curiosity?” 

“Hmm… Jesus… so many places. But definitely not on a couch in the guys office. Do you have _any_ idea the teasing that will now transpire?” 

“I don’t know. I think they can be pretty understanding when they want to be…” 

“Hmm…” 

_________________

Wisely deciding to stay away all night, the guys returned the next morning, cautious as they opened the door and looked around. Finding neither Mulder nor Scully, and no sign of a huge blow over, they shrugged and began to get to work. 

Byers was walking into the next room when he saw pencils on the floor and the cup holding them on its side on the desk. Thinking nothing of it, assuming it had been knocked over, he put them away and continued on out of the room. 

Not until a week later, when a very nice bottle of tequila was delivered to their door, did any of them really speak of it again. It felt too crass to discuss their friends in that manner. 

But when the tequila came with a note that read: _The outcome was good…_ it was not difficult to understand what it could mean. They smiled at one another, Langly cracking the bottle open and pouring them each a shot. 

“To _really_ good outcomes,” he said with a knowing grin and they clinked their glasses together, chuckling as they drank down a celebratory drink. 


End file.
